Monday, January 13, 2014

Configuring Brother HL-2170W with wireless and WPA2

Configuring with wireless and WPA2

The Brother HL-2170W is a nice affordable black and white laser printer, and because it is wireless, you can put it anywhere in your house that is convenient (after you have the wireless configured). Here's how:

First, your printer need to be connected via ethernet to your network (into your router is probably simplest, but you can also do it directly to your computer if you have a DHCP server running).

Find the IP of the printer and enter it into your browser; this will be up the web configuration interface.
Click "Network Configuration", and enter 'admin' for username, 'access' for the password.

All the above info should be in the manual (if you have it, I don't),or see the helpful instructions here: http://www.brother-usa.com/faqs/static/ale_17465.pdf

The following steps are wireless specific:

Enter the value for SSID.It's easier to click the 'Browse' button and find your network(unless you know that SSID broadcast is turned off.)

For Authentication Method, select WPA2-PSK

For Encryption Mode, choose AES (not TKIP, which is the default)This was the important setting for me

Enter your wireless "password in the Passphrase box.

Click Submit button.

It should quickly reply with a "settings have been entered" page, and after a few seconds will update with a message telling you to disconnect the ethernet. Hopefully you will be connected now. After another 30 seconds or so it will print a network status page; if it was successful, there will be a line listed near the bottom with "Wireless link status".

About Me

I have worked mostly with small companies / start-ups, building whatever is required and chasing moving targets. I still do some of this, keeping up on technology, tools, and trying to stay bleeding edge. (There's too many edges though.)

I like to know how things work, including the internet, physics, science, chemistry, biology.